Rays sweep Yankees, AL East playoff roundup

The Tampa Bay Rays closed out their Division Series on Wednesday night with a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Trailing 2-0 in the best-of-five, New York came in needing a win to stay alive, but couldn’t deliver the response many analysts had predicted for Game 3.

Yankees fall short in do-or-die Game 3

The Yankees entered Game 3 at home facing elimination after dropping the first two games of the ALDS to Tampa Bay. Pre-series analysis had New York at least extending things with a win in their first home game, even as most experts still leaned toward the Rays to advance.

Instead, Wednesday’s 4-3 loss ends the Yankees’ postseason at the Division Series stage. Despite the backing of the Yankee Stadium crowd and the urgency of a must-win spot, New York couldn’t extend a season that saw them finish 93-68 in the regular season.

Rays back up dominant AL East season

Coming off a 98-64 regular season that led the AL East, Tampa Bay carried that form into October. Building a 2-0 lead in the series, the Rays left little room for a Yankees comeback and finished the job on the road to move on in the postseason.

Elsewhere in the AL East, it was a quiet day. The Baltimore Orioles (79-82), Boston Red Sox (87-75) and Toronto Blue Jays (79-83) were all idle, their years having ended with the regular season. The division’s spotlight was squarely on the Bronx, where the Rays wrapped up a sweep and kept their playoff run rolling.